It seems like it took forever for for Cyan’s anticipated spiritual successor to Myst and Riven, Obduction [Review: 8/10], to come to the Oculus Rift. That’s largely thanks to a last-minute delay for VR support when the standard version launched a few months ago.
As of last week, though, Obduction is finally available in VR and, according to reactions online and our own review, it was well worth the wait. Fortunately, Cyan hasn’t waited long to confirm another big piece of news: the game is also on its way to the HTC Vive and PlayStation 4 with PlayStation VR support in 2017.
Studio CEO Rand Miller confirmed as much to GamesBeat, stating that the developer was “going all-in on VR.” He noted that the install base of the PS4, which is now over 40 million, would “open our availability” and that he was impressed with how well the game’s visual fidelity held up on the console. The PS VR version will need some optimization, but is “surprisingly capable as a platform.”
As you might expect, the developer is also bringing support for roomscale tracking and the Vive’s position-tracked wands to the PC version of the game, and will implement Oculus Touch controllers too, which are due for arrival in December. These additional control options will allow players to actually pick up and interact with objects in the first-person adventure.
The ports should be worth the wait; we loved Obduction when we reviewed in back in August. “While Obduction does have some issues, the fault for them rests less on Cyan as a studio, and more on VR as a new medium that still has room to grow,” our own Joe Durbin wrote. “What can be attributed to these game makers, however, is an amazing world, clever puzzles, a fascinating story, satisfying gameplay, and a title that can stand next to its elder brothers Myst and Riven with pride.”
Elsewhere, Miller stated that Cyan would be making other VR projects, though it will likely be a long time before we see any of those.
